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A woman in western Switzerland has been fined 190 Swiss francs (€167) for putting her rubbish out on the pavement several days too early.

The woman from Lutry on Lake Geneva was hit with the fine after she allegedly put out her garbage on a Wednesday. Under local by-laws, rubbish can only be placed on the street for collection on Mondays.

“I was shocked and immediately contacted local police who passed me on to their lawyer,” the woman told Lausanne daily 24 heures.

The lawyer told her that the rubbish bag had been found at a garbage collection point and had been opened. A bill had been found in her name and this was why she had been sent a fine.

She could also choose to spend a day in prison rather than pay the fine, she was told by the lawyer.

But the woman has now lodged a complaint. She says that she does not actually place her rubbish on the street and instead takes it three times a week to a municipal container.

In the current case, she believes she may have accidentally left the offending bag by her garage door when she went out. She suspects a friendly neighbour then put it out on the street so that it would be picked up by rubbish collectors.

The woman is set to appear before the police on Wednesday as part of her appeal.

Local authorities said a police report had been filed and that the 190-franc fine had been issued legally, although they could not comment further on the current case.

But they added everyone had the right to be heard, and that sometimes there were extenuating circumstances.

“A lot of people and resources have been mobilized for a forgotten rubbish bag,” the woman involved said. She said police could have issued a warning or made enquiries earlier.

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